How Does it Work?We get this question often, so to help the new shisha enthusiast better understand how it all works, we have provided this crash course on shisha anatomy. The main body of the shisha is made of a pipe that runs from the top, where the clay bowl attaches, all the way to the glass base. Surrounding the pipe is hand worked decorative metal. There is a port for inserting a hose, and on the other side, there is a one way bleeder valve. Each port has a passage into the glass base. There are shishas made that have multiple hose junctions, and come in 2, 3, 4 and 6 hose versions. When you smoke a shisha, the tobacco is placed into the clay bowl on the top, and is heated with a coal. The coal does not actually burn the tobacco, as is the case with a pipe, or a cigarette, it dries and evaporates the shisha tobacco for a smoother, milder smoke. By drawing on the hose, the air pressure inside the glass base is lowered and thus, air is pulled in from the only available source, the top of the pipe. The air flow heats the coal, which heats the shisha tobacco, pulling the smoke down a tube into the water contained in the base. The smoke passing through the water, is filtered, and cools, smoothing out the smoke before it enters the glass base where it is then rushed through the hose to the smoker. The bleeder valve acts as a one way passage for air, and is used to blow the smoke that collects in the glass base out of the shisha. The reason for doing this, is usually the result of smoke that is too thick, stale, or it's just time to change the tobacco to a different flavor. Always clear the base of smoke if the tobacco is starting to burn or become harsh.